The study analysed 36 eligible studies, reporting on 3,237 autopsies, and found that TB accounts for approximately 40% of facility-based HIV/AIDS-related adult deaths in resource-limited settings. The vast majority of TB cases (87.9%) were disseminated, and almost half (45.8%) were undiagnosed ante-mortem. These findings highlight a critical need for improvement in the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of HIV-associated TB globally.

Memorial Fund

The late Professor Stephen Lawn was the senior author on the paper and was very passionate about this piece of work. The honorarium for the award has kindly been donated to the Stephen Lawn Memorial Fund in his honour. The Steve Lawn Memorial Fund includes a Prize awarded to early-career researchers, to help in conducting work related to reducing the disease burden of HIV-associated TB in Africa. The first prize will be awarded at the Union conference in Guadalajara, Mexico, this October.

Professor Steve Lawn

Professor Lawn was committed to improving the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis among people living with HIV/AIDS. The TB Centre at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Desmond Tutu Centre at the University of Cape Town, in partnership with the Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, with support by The Lancet, organised the first annual memorial lecture dedicated to Professor Lawn in March 2017, to honour his work and his valuable contributions to the field of tuberculosis research.